


Thwarted

by hermionegrangerandarocketship



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 14,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25434823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermionegrangerandarocketship/pseuds/hermionegrangerandarocketship
Summary: Hermione gets a bad grade on a test, ruining her chances of becoming Head Girl. She spirals downward until she has stopped showing up to class altogether, and is shutting out her friends. Draco unwillingly(at first) takes on the task of setting her straight, and they end up falling in love... Please review, and let me know if you have suggestions!*New chapters of this fic will be posted first on fanfiction.net, as I am more accustomed to that interface. Same username, same title.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 24
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

A/N- Hi! Okay, this is my first-ever fanfic, so please bear with me. I think it will be 10 chapters, maybe? I’m not far enough along yet to know for sure. Also, I kind of fudged up the Hogwarts grading system and substituted the Muggle one, just for the sake of my sanity. Sorry about that, but please enjoy! And be sure to review down below! Tell me what you think the title should be, I am more than open to ideas(since I appear to have run out;). Don’t worry, though, I have plenty for the actual story, more details to come)!

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“AN 86?!” exclaimed Hermione incredulously. “An 86? But how is this possible?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Granger, but it’s out of my hands,” replied Professor McGonagall, “Your vase still had ears.”

But, Professor, I just slipped. There must be something that you can do. Let me retake the test! Please!” At this point, Hermione was practically hysterical.

“I am sorry, Miss Granger, but I’ve told you, there is nothing I can do!” McGonagall replied rather forcefully.

Hermione took a deep, measured breath, choking back a sob that threatened to escape her lips. “I understand, Professor. Thank you.” And with that, she gathered her things and ran off out of the classroom, hurriedly closing the door behind her, but not before McGonagall heard the sob that she had been unable to contain for any longer. The stern teacher sighed at this, and turned to straighten up her desk.

Meanwhile, in the hallway outside the classroom, Hermione felt like she was slowly shattering into a million tiny fragments, like a sheet of glass struck with a hammer. She didn’t know what to do. The same thoughts echoed through her head over and over again on a constant loop as she traversed the vast labyrinth of hallways that was Hogwarts. A B. A B! How could I? A B? I’ve never gotten a single B in my entire life… My perfect record… just like that… gone…. Tears threatened again at this thought, but she fought them back. Hermione didn't know where she was going. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be here much longer. Bs led to Cs, which led to even worse. Her grades would deteriorate so dramatically that they would have no choice but to kick her out of Hogwarts. And then they’d Obliviate her, and it would all be gone. Her wand, her friends, the entire wizarding world… like a dream. It would be as if it had never really happened. Everything that she had worked so hard for…. She had been appointed prefect last year, and was on track to be Head Girl the next. Before this, she reminded herself. She had forgotten about that. There was no way she would be Head Girl now. Not with a B on her record. She had been neck-and-neck with Mandy Brocklehurst, a pretty blonde Ravenclaw in their year, just hours ago. Hermione had even reached a rare window in which Mandy had fallen slightly behind, and Hermione had been able to pick up some of that slack and draw further ahead by working even harder at her assignments. But not anymore. She knew for a fact that Mandy had nothing less than an A on her perfect record. She sighed.

She didn’t know how much time she spent wandering the halls, but after what felt like hours, Hermione, still lost in her thoughts, decided to head for the girls’ bathroom for a good cry. That ought to make her feel a bit better. She had been able to calm herself not long after exiting McGonagall’s classroom, so that only a few people awarded her the concerned looks she so hated(people never seemed to understand that when she was upset, the last thing she wanted was for them to acknowledge that she was upset).

She paused briefly at a fork in the corridor, having momentarily forgotten her destination. A split second later, the memory crashed over her like a tidal wave, and she turned left in the direction of the girls' bathroom as the tears threatened anew. Fortunately, there was nobody there to witness her struggle. However, her luck ran out fast, and she slammed into a tall figure as she rounded the next bend.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, fixing to hurry off without bothering to see who the figure was. A moment later, a cool, lilting voice stopped her in her tracks and her heart sank. With a deep sigh and much reluctance, she turned to face her archnemesis, Draco Malfoy, flanked on either side by his faithful cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

“Well, well, well…” purred Malfoy, lip curling into an evil sneer. Hermione glared at him, but didn’t respond. She was still struggling to get a handle on the tears that threatened to spill over, and didn’t trust herself to speak. 

As she struggled to get a grip on her emotions, Malfoy’s smile widened, vastly enjoying her predicament. “What’s the matter, Granger? Cat got your tongue?” he laughed at his own joke. Crabbe and Goyle snickered from behind him. Hermione chose to ignore this, instead letting fury overtake her, forcing back the tears, and addressed Malfoy with a furious tone.

“What do you w-want, Malfoy?” she demanded, in the most intimidating tone she could muster. The tremor in her voice somewhat diminished the effect, sending Crabbe and Goyle into another fit of laughter. Malfoy, however, kept a straight face, lip still curled with disgust. 

“Oh, nothing,” he replied off-handedly, “Just wanted to see what was up with my favorite Gryffindor,” this comment was met with exaggerated shrieks of mirth from Crabbe and Goyle.

Suddenly, a sharp voice echoed down the corridor, “Crabbe! Goyle! I don’t suppose you’ve forgotten the detention you were assigned this morning?” Professor Snape swept into the corridor, leering at Hermione, whose face was red with fury, and the tears she had forced back threatened to make a reappearance. Snape sent a reproving look in the directions of Crabbe and Goyle, who glanced apologetically at their leader, before trudging dutifully behind the teacher as he rounded the corner, swishing his cloak behind him like a cape. 

Once Snape had left, Malfoy turned back to Hermione, lip curling back into its sneer, “So…” he hissed wickedly, “what’s a filthy little Mudblood like yourself doing, wandering the corridors all alone --”

“Stop it, Malfoy,” said Hermione, fueled once again by a surge of fury and determination to hold off the tears for good as they threatened to well up once more. Whatever happened, she was NOT going to let Draco Malfoy see her cry. She straightened her spine, whipping out her wand and levelling it at his chest. “I’m warning you…”

“Oh,” he purred with mock astonishment, slowly drawing his own wand, “so, you want to duel me, eh? Well, that can easily be arranged,” he grinned maliciously, “Cruc--”

“Expelliarmus!” shouted Hermione, the force of her spell knocking her adversary off his feet. He landed in a heap, groaning softly. Hermione caught his wand neatly. “Don’t suppose you’ll be needing this,” she said flippantly, a wide grin spreading across her face, before turning on her heel and stalking off.

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A/N- Thanks for reading! Please review! I would love to hear your feedback! Also, as you likely noticed, this fic does not yet have a title. I would greatly appreciate it if you had any ideas! Thank you so much!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Hi! Sorry this took so long, I’ve been extremely busy(jk, I’ve been procrastinating). It’s still surreal to me that people are actually reading my stuff, and that they might actually care if I take forever(I know that last part is just wishful thinking, but it’s a nice idea and the world sucks right now). Anyway, this chapter isn’t great, but it has necessary buildup for the plot, and I already have the next chapter written, so I just need to edit it and it should be published in a few days. Okay, once again, sorry for the wait, but please review and tell me how you like it!!!

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Draco groaned. Everything hurt, though perhaps not as much as his wounded pride. Bested by a mudblood! He wasn’t sure he could ever live this down. Sure, it wasn’t the first time he and Granger had gone toe to toe. He hadn’t forgotten when she’d punched him in their third year. At least then he had been able to walk away with his dignity. He lay there on the floor a moment longer before deciding that he had no choice but to try to walk away before someone found him there and started asking too many questions. The very last thing he needed was a story like that floating around the school. For now he should be alright. There was a firm rule against spellcasting in the halls, and he knew she wouldn’t want to put her sparkling clean record at risk, even if it meant publicly humiliating him. With an immense amount of effort, Draco managed to hoist himself gradually off the floor, tightly gripping a sconce that was mounted on the wall above him, before straightening to his full height. Encouraged by this triumph, draco eagerly stepped forward, releasing the sconce… and promptly crumpled back to the ground with a wretched moan.

A moment later, Draco heard a door open further down the hall and saw a rotund figure emerge from the staffroom. He made a vain attempt to recede into the shadows, but to no avail. He was still only a few inches from the sconce he had used for balance, and so was still illuminated by the torch it held.

“Malfoy?” professor Slughorn asked, confused, “ What happened? Are you alright?”

Of all the people who could’ve found me, Draco thought bitterly, it had to be Slughorn. Draco hated the new potions professor. He had gone from sitting haughtily in the front of the class while Snape treated him like the superior that he was, to slouching at the back of the room while Slughorn fawned over Potter. Like always. It was always “Potter this” and “Potter that”. But it wouldn’t be for much longer. No, once his plan succeeded, it would be him that they were talking about. He would be the famous one in their year at Hogwarts. Yes, once the Dark Lord succeeded in his quest for total control over the wizarding world, he would be the famous one, and Potter would be dead.

“Malfoy!” Slughorn repeated, jolting Draco back to the present, “are you hurt?”

“No,” Malfoy said, although the dignity with which he had injected his tone was rather ineffective due to the fact that the word had escaped his lips in the form of a soft moan.

Slughorn frowned, scanning Draco’s crumpled form before apparently coming to a conclusion and reaching down to help him to his feet.

“Come along, son, we’d best get you to Madam Pomfrey,” he said, rather cheerfully, “I must say, I’m not quite sure how you managed to hurt yourself so badly. Nasty fall, I suppose… hmm…”

Once Draco was on his feet, he tried to move away from Slughorn, who was offering his shoulder for stability, with a meager grunt of protest, before giving in with a soft sigh. After all, he needed the hospital wing, and there was no way in hell he was getting there by himself. And with that, he set off down the corridor, braced on the arm of his least favorite teacher(barring Hagrid of course, though that blubbering oaf was hardly a teacher). 

An hour or so later, Draco stumbled from the hospital wing, made slightly dizzy by whatever draught Madam Pomfrey had given him for the pain.As he hobbled along, he realized that that awful Mudblood still had his wand. He hated her. Now he would either be reduced to begging for his wand like an imbecile or trying to explain in class the next morning how he had managed to lose his wand. He resolved to seek out the Mudblood at the next possible opportunity, but this time with Crabbe and Goyle at his side. Granger may have gotten lucky this time, but next time he would leave nothing up to chance. And on that thought, he strolled towards the dungeons with his nose in the air and a spring in his step as he thought of all the ways he would make that filthy Mudblood pay.

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A/N- Thank you so much for reading! Please review and tell me what you thought. I know it’s not great, but the next chapter is much better, and should be posted soon. Thank you so much!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Okay, so, the last chapter kinda sucked, but I’m really happy with this one, so I hope you like it! Review and tell me what you think!

ALSO, I want to think my very first reviewer, ShreksDaddy. I meant to say that last chapter, but I was rushing and it completely slipped my mind. Okay, so, read, review, enjoy!!!

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Hermione, exhilarated after her run-in with Draco Malfoy, decided to head back to the Gryffindor common room, where she joined her friends. Ron glanced up as she sat beside him, his face brightening.

“There you are! Harry and I wondered where you’d got to. So, what happened with McGonagall? And why’ve you got a second wand?” his eyes searched her expression, as if he expected to find answers there, despite the fact that he wouldn’t know how to interpret them even if he could. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Ron had already turned away.

“Oh, nevermind that, I need help with my potions essay,” he informed her. Hermione sighed, and leaned in to help Ron write about the properties of Amortentia. A small smile crept onto her face. She could do with some Amortentia right now - not to use, of course, Merlin knew the last thing she needed right now was for someone to fall in love with her. No way. No, what she loved about Amortentia was the scent. She remembered the beginning of the year when Professor Slughorn had brewed a huge cauldron of the stuff. Freshly cut grass, new parchment, and something else, something that she couldn’t quite place. Something sharp, almost spicy, like cinnamon. She let her mind meander down the long, winding trails of thought , wondering what the mystery scent could be, until Ron’s voice jerked her abruptly from her trance.

“Hermione!” he exclaimed exasperatedly.

“Hmmmm?” she replied dazedly, blinking to clear her head.

“I said that I had something I wanted to show you.”

“Oh… sorry. So what did you want me to see?”

A dopey grin spread across his face as he pulled a slightly crumpled slip of paper from deep within the pocket of his robes. Hermione felt her good spirits plummet as she took in the slip. Calm down, she told herself. It’s probably not the same one. And so what if it is? He’s probably just excited he managed to scrape a high C on an assignment I didn’t do for him. What’s there to worry about? Still, her breaths became shallower and more frequent as she stared at the slip with a growing sense of dread. Ron shoved the slip into her face, waving it around excitedly, preventing her from reading it. Not that it mattered. He informed her loudly of its contents, his tone triumphant. 

“92! A 92!” he yelled, so loudly that several people within the vicinity looked up in their direction. Ron, oblivious to this, was focused on Hermione, his jubilant expressio beginning to slip when it wasn’t reciprocated by his friend, “what’s wrong?”

Hermione’s vision snapped back into focus at the question, taking in the concern in her friend’s vivid blue eyes.

“I-I have to go,” she stammered, and rushed from the common room, fighting back tears for what seemed the thousandth time that day. Ron could do nothing but stare helplessly after her as she ran off, the Fat Lady’s portrait swinging back into place behind her, blocking her from his sight. He sat, frozen, staring at the spot where Hermion had sat just moments prior, before coming to his senses and turning back to his essay, eyes lingering momentarily on the slip of paper that had been the apparent cause for Hermione’s sudden mood change. He frowned at it, before setting his quill to parchment once more. A moment later his eyes returned to the slip, and he swept it wordlessly into the rubbish bin flanking the table, before returning to his work in one fluid motion, scribbling away about the properties of Amortentia.

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A/N- Thank you so much for reading! I know the Amortentia thing is cheesy, but I don’t know how integral it’s going to be to the plot when I bring it back, so I put it in just in case, so please bear with me. Anyway, thank you for reading, please review, and new chapters should be posted soon, the next few aren’t great, but after that it should start picking up, I PROMISE. Thank you!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- I want to apologize in advance, because this chapter is crap, and the next one probably will be too. I originally planned to have the story alternate between Draco and Hermione, however, I have far more plot development with Hermione than I do with Draco. This chapter was supposed to even it all out, but the characters kind of took it into their own hands(on the plus side, that’s never happened to me before, so I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting better, and yes, I’m aware that that’s wishful thinking, especially since this chapter is terrible). ANYWAY, I’ll try to get out the next chapter as quickly as possible, because after that I should for the most part be finally done developing the plot, and I might actually get to start carrying it out. Anyway, I’m rambling, so please review, and enjoy!

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Draco stalked purposefully down the corridor, flanked on either side by his faithful lieges, Crabbe and Goyle. He had yet to formulate a real plan, aside from the obvious: get his wand back, and make that Mudblood pay. All he needed was to find the Gryffindor Common Room. he was on one of the highest floors of the castle. Gryffindors and Slytherins had been mortal enemies since the school's founding. With that in mind, Draco had hazarded a guess that the Gryffindor common room would be on a higher floor, since the Slytherins’ was belowground in the dungeons. Now all he had to do was find it. Getting in also posed a slight challenge, of course, but he supposed he would burn that bridge once he’d reached it.

He was startled from his thoughts by a door slamming loudly a few yards further down the corridor and a slight first year emerged from Professor Snape’s new classroom, sniffling. Draco rolled his eyes, disgusted by the sniveling child, only to glance back a moment later, eyes resting on a scarlet tie, emblazoned with narrow golden stripes. And suddenly, the plan seemed simple. He couldn’t believe it had never occurred to him before. He strode up to the boy.

“You there, what’s your name, boy?” he sneered menacingly.

The first year shrank back, whimpering, and murmured something unintelligible under his breath.

“Speak up, you blubbering NINCOMPOOP,” Malfoy explained, practically shouting, face growing hot with exasperation.

The boy shrank back even further, but this time managed to produce coherent syllables, “He-henry, sir,” he stammered, clearly unsure of how to address the older student, whose scowling face rested mere inches from his own; long, sharp nose dangerously close.

“And you’re in Gryffindor house, correct?” Malfoy hissed, inching ever closer, the first year’s saucer eyes growing wider and wider with each passing second, as he drew back as inconspicuously as possible. 

“Y-yes, sir,” he replied shakily, on the cusp of losing his balance as he teetered on his heels, unwilling to move any closer to his assailant.

“Tell me, Henry,” Draco purred, “where is your common room?”

The boy gasped softly, eyes widening even further, “I-I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you that, sir,” he said, voice barely a whisper, taking a slow step away from Malfoy.

Draco grabbed ahold of the poor boy’s scarlet tie and pulled him close, face pressed up against his own, so that Henry could feel the older boy’s hot breath against his face, and Draco the younger’s fearful quaking.

“Answer my question, boy,” he growled. The first year whimpered softly, still trembling, but obliged.

“Just look out for the portrait of the Fat Lady,” Henry finished, “password is ‘dilligrout’,” Draco released him, and the first year scampered off down the hallway without another word.

“You heard the boy,” Draco said, turning to his cronies, “we have a Common Room to find, and a Mudblood to punish.

The trio smirked maliciously, and set off once more, only this time, Draco had a clear plan, and the valuable information needed to execute it.

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“Password?” the Fat Lady asked disinterestedly.

“Dilligrout,” Draco replied. The portrait swung forward without another word to reveal a cozy room, filled with warm chatter that slowly began to die as the Gryffindors began to notice the interloper. Draco, however, was oblivious to this as he found what he was looking for. He stalked into the room, signaling for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him, and slapped his hand down upon a desk situated in a far corner of the room. 

“Where is she?” he demanded. The redhead studying at the table looked up, bewildered.

“Malfoy? Wha-?”

“WHERE IS SHE?” Malfoy boomed, startling those listening in, as his cheeks began to turn a brilliant, angry shade of violet. Ron’s eyes widened with shock.

“Wha- who?”

“Granger, you imbecile! Who else?!”

“Erm-”

“Answer me!”

“I don’t know! What’s gotten into you, Malfoy?!”

Draco shook his head, exasperated, “never mind. Figures you wouldn’t know, Weasley,” without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked off, Crabbe and Goyle close behind. And with that, Ron watched, bewildered, as someone stormed away from him, portrait swing shut behind them, for the second time that day. As he sat there wondering what had gotten into Draco Malfoy(not to mention how he managed to get into the Common Room), he got a sickening feeling in his gut that somehow the two outbursts were connected. He pondered that for a moment, before shaking his head, and turning to finish up his potions essay.

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A/N- I know that was bad, and I’m really sorry, but the next chapter should be posted in a few days, and if all goes as planned, the plot will start to pick up, so stay tuned!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- Okay, FIRST, I added to the last chapter a little while after I posted it, so make sure you’ve read the second half of that chapter. Sorry! It shouldn’t happen again in the future. Alright, now that I’ve got that out of the way, I’m actually really happy with this chapter. It’s a little OOC, and I’m sorry about that, but from now on, the rest of the fic should be in character(to the best of my abilities). Also, I’m considering doing the rest of the fic from Draco’s POV, but nothing has been decided yet. Please review, and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

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As the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room swung shut behind Draco, he gazed at the empty corridor ahead of him. What the hell was he going to do now? He frowned, shoving a hand deep into the pocket of his robes and producing a crumpled schedule. He studied it for a moment before stuffing it back in his pocket. Double potions the next morning with Slughorn, followed by a large empty block. That could work. He didn’t need his wand for potions, and he could find Granger during the empty period. With this settled, he resolved to head back to his own Common Room and finish up his remaining homework. He was only halfway through his potions essay on amortentia, which was due tomorrow. Amortentia ha! The mere thought made him want to scoff. He couldn’t for the life of him understand what all the fuss was about. What was so special about “love” anyway? He supposed the smell was alright, but it was overpowered by this odd, fresh minty smell that he could never quite put his finger on. He shook his head to clear it, and strode off down the corridor, Crabbe and Goyle at his heels.

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The next morning at breakfast, Draco scanned the Gryffindor table for a head of bushy hair, frowning when he couldn’t find Granger. It didn’t take long for him to spot Potter and Weasley, but the Mudblood was nowhere to be seen. Draco frowned. Why wasn’t she at breakfast? Oh, relax, he chastised himself, she’s probably just heading to class early to suck up to Slughorn. Why do you even care? You’ll find her, and will get your wand back, regardless of whether or not the Mudblood is at breakfast. Reassured, he left the dining hall early, heading for the dungeons. If she was down there, maybe he could get his wand back before class even started.

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Draco’s forehead creased with confusion and exasperation, his footsteps echoing throughout the empty corridor. Neither Granger nor Slughorn was anywhere to be found. He sighed, and leaned against the wall by the door. He checked his Rolex(A/N- It’s never really confirmed in the series whether or not wizards use Muggle timepieces, but if they did I feel like Draco would definitely have a Rolex. Review and let me know if you agree!). Class started in five minutes. Where was Granger? Even if she hadn't come to talk to Slughorn, she should be there by now. She always showed up at least 10 minutes before class, without fail. Draco shook his head. He paid far too much attention to the Mudblood. Still, he couldn’t help but ponder her absence. As he contemplated this, Slughorn strode up to the door, clearly flustered, so much so that he took several moments to notice Draco standing there.

“Oh! Malfoy! Gave me a bit of a fright there. How are you? Madam Pomfrey fix you up well?”

Draco nodded curtly, not wishing to discuss the previous afternoon’s events. He took his usual seat at the back of the room and returned to his thoughts. Slowly, his classmates began to trickle into the room, taking their usual seats as Slughorn began to take attendance. Five minutes after the class was supposed to start, Slughorn frowned.

“I suppose Miss Granger won’t be joining us today,” he mused, clearly puzzled. Draco noticed Potter and Weasley share a glance and wondered what that was about. He shook his head and turned to his cauldron. 

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Draco was in a shitty mood. Potter had shown him up once again in potions, and he still had no idea where Granger was. He sat in a shadowed corner of the Slytherin Common Room, trying to decide what to do next. Where could she be? All of a sudden, it struck him like a bolt of lightning. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, there was one place she’d have to go at some point. And there was someone there who could give Draco an idea of where she was. Someone who happened to be one of the few people in the school that might be willing to help him out. He stood, wondering how it couldn’t have occurred to him before, and set off for the girls’ bathroom.

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As Draco approached the door to the girls’ bathroom, he glanced both ways to ensure no one was around, before opening the door and slipping in. He didn’t bother to check if anyone was inside, because he knew Myrtle deterred students from using this bathroom unless they specifically wanted to avoid people. Normally, this would be the last place Draco would look if he wanted to find Granger, but he had a distinct feeling something was up with her. Potter and Weasley didn’t seem to know where she was, and she never missed class. No, he had the distinct feeling she was trying to avoid her friends. He had spent most of his time at Hogwarts avoiding other people, and so could imagine her thought process. As he stepped into the bathroom, he called out softly.

“Myrtle?”

But it wasn’t Myrtle’s voice that responded. As he closed the door behind him, he was met with the sound of strangled sobs. He frowned, stepping forward. Later, he would wonder what possessed him to move toward the sound, but regardless, he did, pushing lightly against the stall door, which swung open to reveal Granger, glaring at him defiantly.

“What the hell are you doing in here, Malfoy?” she demanded, eyes red and puffy, face streaked with tears. Draco gaped at her, speechless.

“Well?” she prompted.

“I-I was looking for you,” he heard himself say, “Granger - are you okay?” What the hell? He berated himself angrily. You don’t care about the Mudblood. You just need your wand back. He frowned, deciding to backtrack a bit, “look, Granger, I just need my wand back, okay? Then we can just forget this ever happened.” She didn’t respond. He cocked his head, puzzled. Her eyes had glazed over and a tear tricked silently down her cheek. She blinked, and her eyes widened as if noticing Draco for the first time. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off, “Granger… have you eaten?” he checked his watch, “It’s about lunchtime, how about I go get you something to eat, and then you can give me my wand back, okay?” she nodded slowly, “stay here, alright?” she nodded again, eyes glazed over once more. “Okay,” he said, hurrying off before she could decide to move. Once he’d closed the bathroom door behind him, the reality of the conversation he’d just had came crashing over him like a tsunami. He’d just spoken cordially… with Granger. Granger. He stood dumbly in the corridor trying to decide what to do next. After a moment, he decided that if he was going to have any chance of getting his wand back, he would have to knock some sense back into Granger… somehow. He sighed, and set off for the dining hall.

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A/N- I know I did the Amortentia thing again, and I’m sorry! Anyway, I’m really happy with this chapter, even if it is mostly OOC - again, sorry. But I’m finally getting to the actual plot, which means it should be getting much better from this point forward(fingers crossed). Anyway, a new chapter should be posted soon I hope you liked this one, please review, and let me know what you think about doing the rest from Draco’s POV!!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- I’m not really sure about this chapter. I’ve decided that I want to do at least some chapters from Hermione’s perspective, but I think I want to mostly focus on Draco now that we’ve reached this point. Although, I am tossing around the idea of doing the chapter from Draco’s POV, and then recounting the same events from Hermione’s POV. If I did that, I would include any major details in both, so that you could read only one, if you so wished(I know my writing sucks). Anyway, enjoy, review, and please let me know what you think about the dual POV(I guess that’s what we’re calling it now) idea.

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Hermione paced back and forth in the girls’ bathroom, trying to make sense of what had just transpired. Draco Malfoy had been… nice to her? She shook her head. Who was she kidding? She’d probably just imagined the whole encounter. She was hungry and sleep deprived, and the only water she’d had to drink had come from the filthy sink tap. If that conversation had been real, Malfoy had better bring back some pumpkin juice. Pumpkin juice. The mere thought of food had her salivating heavily. She clasped her head in her hands, trying desperately to force some sense into it. Malfoy had been a delusion. The whole conversation had been a mere figment of her imagination. What she couldn’t wrap her head around was why the hell her imagination had conjured Draco Malfoy, of all people. Not one of her friends or teachers, or even her cat. All of those she would’ve guessed before Draco Malfoy. And yet, here she was, anxiously awaiting his imaginary return. She couldn’t make sense of any of it. She shook her head once more, blinking to clear away her thoughts, and instead chose to ponder the possibility of the delusion bringing back real food. She supposed she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference either way. That thought was both comforting and alarming at the same time. She sighed, perching on the edge of the sink, and gave in to the thoughts pressing at the edge of her consciousness, tears spilling over as she sobbed, letting thoughts of her failure slowly seep through the barriers she had so carefully constructed.

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A/N- I might just take this chapter down. I’m not sure yet. It doesn’t really add anything to the plot, but I do think it’s a decent chapter(short of course, but that’s sort of the point). Anyway, please review, and I’ll let you know probably next chapter if I’m going with the dual POV idea. Thank you!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- So I think I’ve decided to do the dual POV thing(I really need a better name for that), but I think I’m going to do a few chapters first before I get to that(this is becoming far more complicated that it should be, sorry about that:(). Alright, now I’ve got THAT out of the way, I’m pretty happy with this chapter. There are a few rough patches, and also I realized that I never addressed where Moaning Myrtle was, and it’s kinda too late to do that now in the fic, though I will if I find an opportunity to do so. Anyway, I feel like Hermione would’ve driven Moaning Myrtle crazy, and so she left, probably to go haunt the prefects’ bathroom. Alright, now that I’ve addressed all of that, enjoy, and please review!

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Draco walked down the corridor toward the girls’ bathroom, arms weighed down with food, wrapped in napkins, along with a glass of pumpkin juice. He glanced in either direction before opening the door. Granger was perched on the edge of one of the sinks, bawling. Draco approached her cautiously.

“Granger? I brought food,” she looked up, drying her eyes on her sleeve, and frowned, looking him up and down, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

“Here,” he handed her a still-warm roll, setting the glass of pumpkin juice down on the sink beside her, unsure of whether or not she would be able to keep ahold of it, not wanting the liquid to spill. She studied the roll much as she had him, unspeaking, before taking a tentative bite out of it, closing her eyes as a warm smile spread across her face. She took another bite, followed by another, and it wasn’t long before she had devoured the entire thing. He quickly handed her another, then another, until his pockets were empty, and he picked up the glass of pumpkin juice, now more confident in her ability to keep a firm hold on it, which she downed in one gulp.

“Thank you,” she said softly, staring off into space. He eyed her. He needed his wand back. He had Charms that afternoon. He studied her expression for a moment before deciding that asking for his wand back now would be futile, and might erase any progress he may have made with the Mudblood. So instead, he perched up on the sink beside her.

“So… Granger. A-are you okay?” he stammered, suddenly nervous, for no reason he could fathom. She displayed no sign of having heard him, so he plowed ahead, “i-is something wrong?”

She looked up at him, eyes wet, and opened her mouth as if to speak… and then turned away suddenly, a choked cry escaping her lips. And all of a sudden, she was sobbing horribly.

“G-granger?” Malfoy asked, eyes wide with horror, “what-?”

The sobbing grew heavier and heavier until it became almost desperate. Draco sat, rooted to the spot, gaping at the scene before him. After a moment, he came to his senses and inched a bit closer to her, tentatively touching her shoulder, pausing to gauge her reaction. She gave no physical indication that she’d even noticed the caress, but he could have sworn he heard her sobs grow quieter. Encouraged by this, he slowly and carefully extended his arm to wrap around her shoulders, before pausing once more. To his immense surprise, she leaned into the embrace, and he carefully released the tension in his arm, allowing its full weight to rest on her shoulders. Hermione’s sobs quieted almost completely. Sniffling, tears still streaming steadily down her face, she rested her head on Draco’s shoulder. Immediately, he stiffened, limbs seizing up, before relaxing a moment later with a resigned sigh when he saw the tears begin to slow, before stopping altogether. Her breaths began to lengthen, evening out as they did so. Draco, relieved as he was by the lapse of the sobbing, took a moment to notice this. Holy shit! He thought wildly. She's asleep! What am I going to do now? He contorted ever-so-slightly to get a glimpse of his watch, eyes widening. He was twenty minutes late for Charms. He must have been in the bathroom longer than he’d thought. He sighed. Well, Charms was his last class for the day, and there was no point showing up this late. Besides, if he woke Granger, the crying might start again, and he was nowhere near ready for more of that. With a sigh, he gave in to the inevitable, and began pondering ways to get his wand back from Granger.

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A/N- I’m really happy with this chapter, and the next one should be posted within a day or two. Please review, and tell me what you thought!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- This chapter isn’t great, but the next one should be really good, if all goes as planned. ALSO, as you may have noticed, I got rid of all the chapter titles because I’m crap at coming up with titles(as evidenced by the title of this fic). And before I forget, I want to thank my second-ever reviewer, Ghostwriter71. I guess that’s it(these are getting shorter and shorter; I guess that’s what happens when I post a chapter every day lol). Anyway, enjoy, and please review!

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Hermione’s eyes opened slowly. She blinked to clear her vision, before frowning as she took in her surroundings. All of a sudden, the previous days’ events came flooding back to her, the wound seeming fresh once more. But those thoughts were pushed from her mind when she noticed an odd pressure against her head. She glanced up to find that her head was resting on the shoulder of someone dressed in Slytherin robes, his head of platinum blond hair rested on hers with an arm around her, fast asleep. Her eyes widened, and she shot up, pushing him away.

“Oh my God!” she began pacing furiously back and forth as Draco woke up, blinking groggily, before spotting her and glancing at his Muggle watch, eyes widening with shock.

“Granger,” he said tentatively, “a-are you okay?” she glared at him angrily, gaze softening with confusion when she saw the genuine concern in his eyes. She didn't understand why he was doing this. She was still only half convinced that he wasn’t a delusion, but there was nothing corporeal about his form, and she was nearly positive those rolls had been real. But that was beside the point. His expression was growing more and more concerned with every passing second as he watched her silently arguing with herself.

“D-don’t you have class or something?” she asked softly, levelling a steady gaze at him.

“Never mind that,” he replied, apparently relieved to have her talking, “what’s up with you, Granger?”

She dropped her gaze, bracing her forehead against her hand as she stared at the bathroom floor, tears threatening. She let them come, trickling silently down her cheeks. She retreated to the stall she had taken refuge in before Malfoy had found her. He stood, moving to follow her, but she emerged before he could, clasping her book bag as she extracted a small slip of paper. She handed it to him, tears flowing faster and faster as she did so. She perched back up on the sink, clutching the book bag to her chest, and watched Malfoy’s face as he read the slip, tears staining the smooth brown leather of the bag. Draco looked up at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. 

“This? This is what you’re so upset about?! A B?” he laughed incredulously, shaking his head with disbelief, “only you, I guess,” Hermione’s frown deepened, and he stopped laughing, matching her expression, puzzled, “um…”

Hermione shook her head, tears still pouring, “I can’t be Head Girl now,” she choked out. It sounded stupid now that she voiced her thoughts aloud, but it was true. She’d worked toward that her entire time at Hogwarts, and it had all been about to pay off, but now…. She recounted this thought process to Malfoy, who nodded understandingly as she spoke, but interjected toward the end.

“But, Granger, you get better grades than anyone else in our year.”

Hermione shook her head, “Mandy Brocklehurst,” she sniffled.

“Who the hell is that, Granger?”

“What do you mean, ‘who is she’?! She's been my only real competition since we started here. She gets perfect grades.”

Draco shook his head, before snapping his fingers, “wait! She’s the blonde, right? The Ravenclaw?” Hermione confirmed this with a nod, the tears that had ebbed momentarily beginning to flow anew. Seeing this, Draco decided to change gears.

“What does it matter if you’re Head Girl, anyway?” he asked, “we all know you’re going to be successful.”

Hermione eyed him doubtfully, “and who’s ‘we’?”

“Anyone here who knows you,” he replied, eyes genuine.

“Oh?” she replied coyly, eyes playful, despite being puffy from crying, “and you’re saying that includes you?” a lighthearted smile played across her lips.

“Oh, yes,” he replied, flashing her a flirtatious look so ridiculous that it sent them both into a wild fit of giggles. Once the laughter had subsided, Malfoy glanced at his watch.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, “I’d better go, we’ll miss breakfast,” he turned to leave, shooting Hermione the same look as he shut the door behind him. She watched him leave, a smile still painted across her face, but was oddly sad. She frowned, confused by the feeling, before realizing that she was sad to see him go. Her frown deepened as she pondered this. Huh. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Oh, relax, she told herself. It’s nothing. It means nothing. And yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that it did.

A/N- I know that ending was kinda cheesy, but I swear the next chapter will be better(maybe). I haven’t written it yet, but I have some really good ideas. Okay, I guess that’s it, so thank you for reading, and please review!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- Okay, so I guess I’ve dropped the double POV idea. I was planning on doing it in a few chapters, but then this one kind of wrote itself, so… yeah. Also, I think I’m going to start posting once a week(as opposed to every day lol). So from now on there should be a new chapter posted every Monday. Anyway, I’m pretty happy with this chapter, so enjoy and please review!

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Draco sprinted down the corridor, robes flying out behind him, in a mad dash to reach the dining hall. When he reached his destination, he slowed and hastily caught his breath before entering, so as not to attract unwanted attention, although he realized a moment later that his unkempt hair and filthy, wrinkled robes did that anyway. He hurried to the Slytherin table, where he piled hastily buttered toast into napkins and snagging two glasses of pumpkin juice, before rushing out again, barely avoiding the searching glances of Crabbe and Goyle, no doubt curious as to where their leader had gotten to(if they were smart enough to notice he was gone at all). Once he’d reached the corridor, he slowed his pace, so as not to spill the pumpkin juice. As he walked, he thought about Granger. He’d made a bit of a breakthrough this morning, getting her to finally confide in him, but she was still upset, and he wasn’t sure that was going to change anytime soon. He sighed. He was terrible with this sort of thing. He sighed once more, glancing both ways as he entered the bathroom.

Hermione stood, wincing as she tugged a large brush through her damp hair, book bag open at her feet. 

“I washed up as best I could,” she explained, noticing Draco’s puzzled expression, “and I always keep a brush in my book bag,” with one final tug, she managed to extract it from her head, along with a wet clump of hair, and set it down, “ooooh, breakfast,” she took a stack of toast and bit into the first piece with a smile as she reclaimed her perch on the sink from before. Draco joined her, eyeing her hair. Noticing this, Hermione arched a brow, “what?”

He shook his head, “it’s nothing.”

Hermione’s other brow shot up to join the first, “come on,” she said, “what?”

“Your hair…” he shook his head again, “never mind.”

She rolled her eyes, “well, of course it’s a mess, I only brushed like half of it. And my Sleakeazy’s is in the girls’ dormitory. Long hair isn’t all that easy, you know. And mine hasn’t been properly washed in days,”

“Okay, okay,” he replied, “point taken.”

She grinned, flipping her hair so that water sprayed in his face, “you know, you don’t look so great yourself.”

“Of course not, I’ve spent the last few days in here with you,” he teased, “if you’d prefer I wasn’t a mess, I’d be happy to take back the breakfast that I brought you,” he reached jokingly for the food in her hands. She batted his hand away playfully, before tearing off a piece of toast and throwing it, hitting him square in the face. He brushed away crumbs, a spirited smile playing across his lips as he threw a piece of his own. It missed Hermione by a mile, sending her into a fit of mirth. As she laughed, Draco lined up a second shot, sending a piece of toast into her tangled hair, where it caught and stuck, sending him into peals of laughter to match Hermione’s. She recovered before he did and launched another bit of bread in his direction, this one hitting his shoulder and leaving an oily butter stain on his Slytherin robes. He quelled the laughter enough to retaliate, and before long the two were engaged in a food fight, huge grins spread across their faces as they laughed. Once the toast was gone and crumbs littered the floor of the bathroom, butter stains spattering their robes, they both downed their glasses of pumpkin juice, and Draco turned to Hermione.

“Hey,” he said, “you said you wanted to wash your hair, right?” she nodded, eyeing him curiously, “well, why don’t we use the prefects’ bathroom? We both have access, unless the password’s changed in the past two days. That way you don’t have to go back to the Common Room.”(A/N- It’s never really said in the series where the showers are, unless you count the prefects’ bathroom, so I kinda just assumed(and went with what worked for the plot).)

Hermione dismissed the idea, “no. We can’t do that. I can’t risk running into Harry or Ron. I’m not ready to face them. They’ll ask questions… I just can’t.”

“Why not, Granger? They’re your friends, aren’t they?”

“I know. They are. I just… I’m not ready to tell them.”

Draco frowned, “how hard can it be? You told me, after all, and we’re enemies.”

Hermione looked down, suddenly shy, “are we, though?”

“Are we what?”

She looked up to meet his gaze, “enemies.”

“Oh,” he replied, taken aback, “I…”

“I mean,” she hurried on, staring down at her feet once more, “you were helping me and I-I thought… I don’t know,” she shook her head, “but why were you helping me? You don’t have any reason to.”

“Actually…” Draco met her gaze as she raised it, “you… you still have my wand,” and now it was his turn to shift his gaze to the floor.

“That’s what this was all about?” she asked, eyes filling up with tears, “all of it? Bring me food… helping me… it was all fake?” the tears spilled over, trickling down her cheeks.

“No,” Draco said, “no - I mean, yes, but…”

She shook her head, “get out,” she stood, grabbing the nearest weapon, which happened to be the hairbrush from before, pointing it at him like a sword.

“Granger, please,” he said desperately, voice quavering as he stood as well, “just let me explain. It started out like that, but-”

“Get out,” she brandished the hairbrush as he slowly began to back away, hands in the air.

“Granger, I-” but his words were cut off by the choking sob that escaped his lips, surprising him. He, Draco Malfoy, was crying over a Mudblood. And not just any Mudblood, Granger. He looked up at her, the arm wielding the hairbrush slowly falling to her side as she watched him, clearly as taken aback as he was.

“Look, Granger,” he said, recovering from the initial shock of the moment, “at first that was all I wanted. But then…” he stared deep into her watery brown eyes, “…something changed. I actually wanted to help you. I never admitted it to myself, but I did,” tears trickled down his cheeks as he searched her face, “I really wanted to help you. I really cared. And I still do, now more than ever,” he took a tentative step forward, never taking his eyes off Hermione, before carefully wrapping his arms around her, locking her in a fierce embrace, “I care about you Granger,” he whispered in her ear. 

“Hermione,” she breathed softly, the first time she’d spoken since he had confessed his feelings.

“What?”

“Call me Hermione,” she told him, pulling away to gaze into his dove gray eyes.

“Hermione,” he amended, gazing back. He leaned slowly forward, lips brushing hers, feeling her breath catch as he did so. He pulled away slowly, resting his forehead lightly against hers. They stood there for a long moment, unspeaking, before Hermione broke the silence.

“You can have your wand back,” she breathed.

Draco chuckled softly, “keep it,” he replied, kissing her once more, Hermione shivered at his touch.

He put his forehead to hers once more and closed his eyes, inhaling her scent. Beneath the inevitable musk that was the result of several days between washes was a fresh, minty scent. It was comfortingly familiar, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on where he’d smelt it before. After a moment, he dismissed the thought and basked in the beauty of the moment, standing wrapped in the embrace of the only girl he’d ever really loved. He contemplated that thought for a moment, but knew without a doubt that it was true. He’d dated a few girls in his time at Hogwarts, but he’d never really cared about any of them. Not like this. He could only imagine what his father would make of this. He realized that, for once in his life, he didn’t care. But then something else occurred to him. He’d completely forgotten about the Dark Lord and his plan…. He shook his head, breaking away from Hermione(Granger, he reminded himself).

“I-I can’t,” tears filled his eyes as he grabbed Hermione’s bag from the floor where it sat, rejected, and pawed through it before finding what he wanted. He tucked his wand into his robes and dropped the bag. Hermione gaped at him, open-mouthed.. He turned to look at her one last time as he opened the door to leave, tears spilling over, shaking his head once more as if to tell her that she couldn’t understand. And she never would. A racking sob escaped his lips as the door swung shut behind him, tears flowing thick and fast. The same thought kept spiraling through his mind, growing blacker and blacker by the second. What have I done?

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A/N- Okay, so like I said, this chapter kind of wrote itself. Originally, it was just going to be fluff, and I was just going to focus on the part with the toast, but then one thing led to another and this happened, so… yeah. Anyway, I’m rambling, so please review, and the next chapter should be posted Monday. Thanks for reading!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	10. Chapter 10

A/N- Alright, before I do anything else, I just figured out how to see who all my followers are(I know, please don’t judge), so thanks to Fairylibrary94, wizardingmalfoy394, roni2740, ShreksDaddy, Jhark123, compass24, Ghostwriter71, tiburito85, peterchavez293, and Writz24. That should all be spelled correctly and in chronological order, but knowing me at least one of them is probably messed up even though I double-checked it all, so I sincerely apologize for that:/. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, this is another short Hermione chapter, so I’m sorry for the length, but I’m pretty happy with it so I hope you enjoy, and please review!!

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Hermione gaped at the closed door before her, utterly shocked. Slowly, the reality of the situation began to sink in. She sank slowly to her knees, eyes flooding with tears as she clasped her head in her hands, the tears spilling over as she began to sob horribly, hairbrush clattering to the floor. It felt like her very being was shattering into a billion tiny little pieces. She had thought it impossible for her to feel worse than she had a few days prior in McGonagall’s classroom, but this pain was deeper, more significant. That pain had felt like a brick wall that she slammed into every time she tried to move forward, forcing her to wallow in the past with no way out. But this felt like a million tiny daggers were stabbing her flesh over and over again, reopening the wounds just as they began to heal, stabbing ever deeper and threatening to shatter her very core. She curled up into a little ball, there on the floor of the girls’ bathroom, clutching herself ever tighter to her chest as she tried to fend off the blades’ attacks. Eventually, as she sat there, sobbing, she gave up, slowly unfurling her limbs, head falling back to rest on her book bag, where Draco had discarded it, desperate sobs slowly beginning to ebb as silent tears began to flow thicker and faster as she gave in to jabbing knives, each blow whittling away at her soul, bit by bit, reducing her slowly to nothing.

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A/N- Again, sorry for the length, but I hope you liked it, and please review!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	11. Chapter 11

A/N- Another short chapter, I'm SORRY, this should be the last one. Which of course means it won't be, but anyway, this was supposed to be longer, but then one thing led to another and this happened(yes that is going to be my new excuse, please don't judge me). Once again, I'm sorry for the length, but I hope you enjoy, and please review!

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Draco left the prefects' bathroom feeling refreshed, projecting confidence. He didn't have class until after lunch, so he decided to head for the Room of Requirement to work on his plan.

Halfway to his destination, Draco stopped abruptly in his tracks, realizing that he didn't have Crabbe or Goyle to act as lookouts. He weighed his options for a moment before steeling himself and continuing on his way. One time without them couldn't do that much harm, after all.

Once he'd reached the Room of Requirement, Draco glanced both ways before he began pacing in front of the wall trying desperately to focus on his mission, as opposed to the nagging thought that had wormed its way into his brain, reminding him what glancing both ways down the corridor had meant for the past few days. That she would be behind the door, for better or for worse. He scowled, shoving these thoughts from his mind as the door appeared before him. The door swung open, and he headed straight for the Vanishing Cabinet, where he got right to work, focusing on his mission to distract himself from the morning's events, not to mention those of the past several days.

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A/N- Ugh, this chapter is so short and I'm REALLY SORRY, but if all goes well the next chapter should be long(and one of the last ones!). ALSO, I've started working on a new fic following Severus Snape throughout his time at Hogwarts. I won't be posting anything for that until I have a title for this one(it's just bad form to have two untitled fics going at once;)), and hopefully for that one as well, but anyway, I'll stop rambling. I hope you enjoyed this(really short I'M SORRY) chapter, and please review!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	12. Chapter 12

A/N- Okay, so this chapter is longer, and the next one should be my longest yet. I'm really happy with this chapter, and I have a couple titles that I'm considering(the credit for one of which goes to CarrieMaxwell on AO3). And before I forget, I want to thank my third reviewer, James Birdsong. Alright, I hope you enjoy, and please review!

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Hermione lay on the bathroom floor, gazing up at the cracked stone ceiling. The tears had stopped pouring, but their remains still coated her cheeks in a sticky sheen. Suddenly, she sat up, blinking rapidly to clear her head as she snapped out of her trance. What the fuck was she doing? Moping over a boy? And not just any boy. Draco Malfoy. Her mortal enemy since her first year at Hogwarts. What the fuck had gotten into her? She forced herself up off the floor, gathering her book bag and hairbrush, tossing old napkins and empty glasses from her meals with Draco into the small wastebasket in the corner of the room. She sighed, surveying the mess of soggy bread bits scattered across the floor, pitying the poor house elves who would be forced to clean it up. A split second later, she realized something peculiar. Not a single house elf had been in there to clean. She contemplated this for a moment, puzzled, before dismissing the notion, asserting that there must be some reason. Perhaps they were distraught at the sudden lack of S.P.E.W. hats to set them free. Yes, that must be it. The poor things must be worried they'd never be free now. She resolved to get straight to work knitting more as soon as she got back to the Common Room. So is that where I'm going? she wondered. She couldn't think of anywhere else. But then she remembered something Draco had said that morning, angrily forcing back tears at the thought of him. The prefects' bathroom. Of course! How could she not have thought of it sooner? She shoved the hairbrush into her bag and headed for the door, giving the room one final glance-over to ensure she hadn't left anything behind, before closing it behind her.

Once in the corridor, Hermione dashed for the prefects' bathroom, keeping her head down and partially hidden behind her book bag in an attempt to go unnoticed. No such luck.

"Granger!" bellowed an oily voice. Hermione's heart sank as she turned to face her least favorite professor, amber-brown eyes peeking out from behind her bag as she clutched it, her grip growing ever tighter and more desperate.

Snape's inky eyes surveyed her wretched form. The corners of his lips turned up into a malicious grin.

Seeing this, Hermione straightened her stance, lowering her book bag to reveal the rest of her face and narrowing her eyes, meeting the professor's gaze and instilling her own with as much defiance as she could muster. Snape's smile widened evilly, causing her to falter momentarily before regaining her composure and standing her ground. He stepped slowly forward and Hermione gripped her bag even closer to her chest, somehow reassured by the sensation of the cool leather against her bare forearms.

"So, Granger…" Snape continued finally, still stalking every closer to Hermione, coal-black eyes seeming to bore into her very soul. Still, she held her ground, without so much as a quiver to betray her terror. Hermione strained her ears for any sound that might suggest they weren't alone. That Snape couldn't do anything to her. But she was met with complete and utter silence save for her assailant's voice as he drew ever nearer.

"Is there a reason you missed Defense Against the Dark Arts yesterday?" he sneered, bending slightly so that his eyes were level with hers and his hot, rancid breath filled her nostrils, nearly sending her into a fit of hacking coughs.

"N-no?" she stammered faintly, hating herself for how weak and helpless she sounded, as well as unsure of how to answer the greasy-haired professor's question. Clearly, he was dissatisfied with her response. His nose wrinkled and he straightened his spine. Hermione's wary gaze never left him as he turned away and began to stalk purposefully down the corridor.

"Detention!" he called, voice echoing throughout the empty corridor, "tonight, my office," and with that he rounded the corner. Hermione released a breath at his words, but stood firm until he had disappeared completely from view, before turning herself and setting off once more for the prefects' bathroom, this time at a much quicker pace, training her gaze back towards the ground beneath her feet in an attempt to go unnoticed. This time, much to her relief, she reached her destination without further interruption, slipping silently into the prefects' bathroom after muttering the password, Nova Abiete.

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A/N- I'm sorry this chapter was kinda short, but the next chapter should be the longest yet, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading, and please review! Oh, and the password was a bit of a cop-out, nova abiete is latin for "pine fresh".

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	13. Chapter 13

A/N- I HAVE A TITLE! It should make more sense later on, but I was so excited to have finally made a decision that I wanted to change it ASAP. Bathroom Confessions, courtesy of CarrieMaxwell on AO3, was also in the running. Anyway, this is a longer chapter(this is apparently a red letter day for me lmao). It's a little slow, but I'm hoping the plot willill pick up from here. I hope you enjoy, and please review.

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Hermione emerged from the prefects' bathroom with a spring in her step, wet hair pulled up into the neatest ponytail possible(which is to say, a rather messy one). She was headed for the Gryffindor Common Room to retrieve her bottle of Sleekeazy's and a fresh set of robes from the girls' dormitories. Then she'd have to try to piece together the assignments from all the classes she'd missed. She was grateful she hadn't missed Arithmancy. Her favorite class consisted solely of her and a few Ravenclaws. She didn't know where the Ravenclaw Common Room was, and she certainly wasn't going to just hover at a fork in the corridor on the off-chance that one of them would happen by. She scowled at the mere thought of this, earning her inquisitive stares from a group of first years that she passed.

Eventually, Hermione reached the entrance to the Common Room.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked uninterestedly, studying what appeared to be a manicure. Hermione frowned at this. Where did she get nail polish? she wondered, dismissing the thought as she noticed the Lady's expectant stare.

"Dilligrout," she said quickly. The portrait swung forward, its occupant's gaze already back to her fingernails. Hermione stepped into the warm atmosphere and immediately felt at home. The sight of the crimson and gold drapings, along with the hubbub of warm chatter and the crackling fireplace seemed to restore order to her world, which had been turned on its head for the past few days. A smile played across her lips as she made a beeline for the entrance to the girls' dormitories, taking the steps up to her level two at a time. She grabbed fresh robes and snapped the curtains on her four-poster shut while she changed. After that, she grabbed her bottle of Sleekeazy's and situated herself in front of a mirror. After a brief struggle to free the hairband from her locks, she began applying liberal amounts of the stuff.

Forty-five minutes and half a bottle of potion later, Hermione reentered the Common Room, book bag hung over her shoulder. She beamed at the sight of her friends' hunched-over figures, Harry's head of messy dark locks nearly touching Ron's neat(er) mop of fiery red hair, as the pair sat opposite each other at a small table, quills scratching furiously against parchment. She took a seat at the table with them, folding her arms together and resting them on a stack of books. Neither boy noticed her presence. One of her eyebrows shot up. She had never once seen them this engrossed by their studies in their entire time at Hogwarts, even when they'd been preparing for their O.W.L.s the year before.

"So…" she began. Both boys jumped, Harry so much so that his glasses flew right off his face. He began fumbling blindly for them. Hermione sighed, but her smile remained. No, her friends were still the same Harry and Ron. They hadn't miraculously changed in her absence. She drew her wand from her bag and waved it. Accio! she commanded silently. Harry's glasses flew into her outstretched palm. She closed his fingers around them and watched, bemused, as he shoved them back and turned to stare at her, blinking several times as if he didn't believe his eyes. Ron hadn't moved(with the exception of the jump) since she'd spoken. He sat there, gaping stupidly at her. Harry was the first of the two to recover.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" he demanded. The Common Room grew silent, save for the crackling of the fireplace. All its occupants turned to glare at Harry, except for a small group of second years, who gaped wide-eyed, clearly shocked by the use of the curse word. Harry, however, was completely oblivious to this, his emerald eyes focused on Hermione. Ron still had yet to move so much as a muscle. As the Gryffindors slowly returned to their work, many still shooting Harry the occasional dirty look, Hermione began to speak, choosing her words carefully.

"I… um, well… it's a rather long story, you see," she stammered, unsure of how much to divulge, "so, um-"

"YOU SCARED US HALF TO DEATH!" Ron exploded suddenly, having come to his senses. This outburst earned still more dirty looks from the other Gryffindors.

"Will you two shut up?" Hermione hissed, shooting an apologetic glance at the table nearest theirs. She took a deep breath and began to recount the story in hushed tones. Harry and Ron remained mercifully silent while she did so.

"I didn't know what to do, so I hid," she finished, having conveniently left out the details of where she'd hidden, let alone what had transpired there. What her friends didn't know couldn't hurt them. But if they ever did find out, it could certainly hurt her. Her friends would never let her live that down as long as she lived. Blinking to clear her thoughts, she returned her focus to her friends, who blinked stupidly at her. Once again, Harry was the first to recover.

"So… you disappeared," she nodded tentatively, "for three days," - another nod - "because of a bad grade?!" she grimaced, remembering Malfoy's reaction to this information. She knew her friends would at least try to be a bit more empathetic. Merlin knew that term didn't exactly resonate with Draco Malfoy. But what about- she bit her lip, forcing the thought from her mind and narrowing her eyes defiantly when tears began to threaten. Harry appeared not to have noticed this, busy as he was ogling her as if she had just sprouted a third arm.

"Wait…" Ron said softly, emerging from his stupor in a much quieter manner this time, "does that mean… the slip… in the Common Room" - he gestured broadly - "...is that why?" the question came in strung-together bits and pieces, but Hermione knew exactly what he meant, no deciphering necessary.

"Yes," she replied simply, worried he would want further explanation - which he was rather entitled to. But Ron seemed entirely content with this answer, and he turned away from her, softly muttering nonsense to himself and seemingly oblivious to Harry, whose jade green eyes were flicking back and forth between the two of them, his expression perplexed, if a bit wounded. Hermione shook her head at him, mouthing, "long story," but remaining silent so as not to disturb Ron. She imagined Harry already knew the basic details of what had transpired in the Common Room that evening, but she'd rather he didn't find out any more of the harsh details than necessary. She was a bit embarrassed by the whole debacle. And that was without factoring in Draco Malfoy.

"Look," she said, returning her attention to her friends. Ron's gaze shot back to her, clearly fully alert now. She considered that for a moment. Ron certainly wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, not by a long shot. He was a bit slow, but that didn't stop him. He was always dependable in that he would be there to lend an ear, even if he had difficulty fully comprehending the weight of what he was hearing. She eyed him for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought. He was probably still recovering from the inevitable shock of this whole mess. And he didn't even know the half of it. Right there and then, she made herself a promise. No matter what happened, Ron(and hopefully the rest of the world) could never know what had happened between her and Draco Malfoy in that girls' bathroom. He made no real effort to hide his feelings for her, despite the fact that she'd broken up with him last year. They'd dated briefly, but she'd realized quickly that she couldn't reciprocate his feelings. It had been a bit of a relief, actually. At first she'd found his simple personality endearing, but eventually it became a nuisance. And the whole situation had been rather awkward. Granted, friends to lovers wasn't always the smoothest of transitions, but Ron certainly hadn't made it any easier. Hermione had found herself turning to Harry in desperate attempts to keep the relationship afloat while she puzzled out her feelings. The last straw had been when he'd stolen Harry's invisibility cloak to eavesdrop on a conversation between his girlfriend and his best friend in an inane attempt to see if they were secretly together behind his back. They weren't, of course, but that had set her off. She'd broken up with him on the spot, infuriated as she was by the idea that Ron, who'd known her for years thought that she would do something like that. And with one of her best friends, no less! She knit her brows in frustration at the mere thought. She knew he meant well, but it had seemed as if jealousy had just overtaken him. He'd forced himself to extremes in a vain attempt in keeping them afloat, only to capsize them even faster. But it had likely been for the best, even for him. They were never going to last. Deep down, both of them had known it all along.

She blinked herself back to reality, relaxing the muscles in her face, which had tightened into a scowl, and silently berating herself for getting lost in thought again. She desperately needed sleep. She'd slept soundly the night before, but there was only so much good that could do when it had occurred whilst perched on the edge of a bathroom sink. Hermione forced her full attention back towards her friends, who did not appear to have noticed her brief lapse into deep, meandering thought, making her wonder how long she'd been zoned out. She inhaled deeply before continuing, "our… our entire time at Hogwarts, I've had my sights set on Head Girl," she paused, glancing at each of the boys in turn to ensure they were following before she continued on, "and… well… this ruined my chances," she finished lamely, unsure of what to say next but plowing onward when Harry and Ron remained silent, "anyway, um… yeah, I'm all good now," she cringed as she said it. She sounded like such an idiot. She angled her gaze toward the table before her, pursing her lips. After a moment of absolute silence, she couldn't stand it any longer. She spoke once more in an attempt to break it, "so… um… what homework did I miss?"

Harry and Ron shared a glance, before breaking out into identical grins and turning back to their friend, beginning to talk at the same time, in the same frantic, hurried tone. Hermione smiled herself, a soft, contented sigh escaping her lips. Thank Merlin that's over, she thought.

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A/N- Okay, so Harry and Ron were a bit OOC, and the chapter was a little slow, but I did write a longer chapter finally! If all goes as planned, the plot should start picking up once again. I hope you enjoyed, and please review!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	14. Chapter 14

A/N- Okay, so I'm really happy with this chapter, and I hope you feel the same way! Enjoy, and please review!

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Hermione emerged from Snape's detention covered head-to-toe in slimy goop. The former Potions Master had temporarily reclaimed his old classroom and had her elbow-deep in frogspawn for the past hour and a half, and she'd been so caught up with catching up on her homework that she hadn't had time to get any rest, and so was dead on her feet and she dragged herself up a staircase in the general direction of the Gryffindor Common Room.

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Hermione woke to the curtain on her four-poster snapping open, sending a shaft of sunlight across her face. She squinted against the bright rays, attempting to identify the offender. All she could make out was a head of fiery red hair. She squinted harder.

"Wha-?"

"Come on, get up," said the figure sharply. As Hermione's eyes adjusted, her gaze sharpened to reveal Ginny Weasley frowning expectantly down at her.

"Ginny? What…?"

"Harry said you had detention with Snape last night, Ginny explained, "figured you'd be exhausted," she paused to grab Hermione's arm and drag her out of bed, "looks like he was right," she grinned.

Hermione mumbled her thanks and groped around for her watch, holding it up close to her face, vision still slightly fuzzy with exhaustion. Once she managed to focus her gaze on the watch, her eyes widened, all taxes of exhaustion gone in an instant.

"Shit," she hissed, turning to paw through her trunk, resurfacing a moment later with the remainder of the bottle of Sleekeazy's she'd decimated the previous day and a bottle of shampoo, sprinting for the bathroom.

In the doorway, she wheeled around to thank Ginny one more time. The redhead smiled warmly, periwinkle eyes sparkling, before turning herself and heading out a door at the opposite end of the room from the one through which Hermione had just disappeared.

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Fifteen minutes later, an extremely disgruntled Hermione emerged from the bathroom. About half of her hair was completely dry, the other half sopping wet and all of it pulled into a lopsided ponytail. Her wrinkled robes were askew; she'd forgotten to grab another set, and she didn't have time to change. She tossed the shampoo and now-nearly-empty bottle of potion back into her trunk and slung her book bag over her shoulder, before hurrying from the girls' dormitories without a backward glance.

Hermione motored through the mostly-empty Common Room, disappearing swiftly through the portrait hole. Once in the corridor, she broke into a run, tightly clutching her bag as it swung, ramming rather painfully against her side.

As she rounded the corner toward the Great Hall, she glanced down at her watch mid stride and slammed into a lanky figure emerging from breakfast.

"Sorry," she mumbled, bending to retrieve her bag, which she'd dropped. The figure, whom she hadn't bothered to identify, dove for it just as she grasped the strap, forcing a neatly folded square of parchment into her palm. Her eyes widened and she straightened hastily as the figure rounded the corner, whirling as he did so to meet her amber-brown eyes with his dove gray ones before rounding the corner, a glimpse of messy, white-blond hair the last she saw of him.

Hermione blinked slowly, eyes wide with bewilderment as she slowly began to process what had just happened. Of course, she'd known she would have to run into Draco Malfoy eventually, she just hadn't counted on it happening so soon. Tears threatened, and she bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood spread across her tongue. Once she'd regained control of her emotions, she remembered the square of parchment in her palm. She unfolded it warily, hands shaking, and slowly began to read:

 ~~Hermione~~ Granger,

I just want you to know that I'm sorry. About what happened. That I left like that. That I can't tell you why. You wouldn't understand anyway. I know you probably won't believe this. I know you probably hate me. You should hate me. You have every right to. But I really am sorry.

Yours,

Draco Malfoy

The tears returned, unbidden, as Hermione read the note a second time. This time she let them come. They slipped silently down her cheeks before falling to stain the creamy parchment. She allowed herself a moment to reread the note once more, before tucking it into the pocket of her robes and waving her wand, making a tissue appear out of thin air. She dried her cheeks and blew her nose, before vanishing it with another wave of her wand. She slung her bag back over her shoulder and headed for class, one hand pawing through the bag in search of the muggle granola bar she always kept there just in case, as there was no way she'd have time for a proper breakfast now.

Hermione was early to her class, and she rested her back against the wall by the door. She vanished her granola bar wrapper and pulled out the note one more time, one final tear slipping down her cheek as she read it.

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A/N- So I hope you enjoyed, and please review!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	15. Chapter 15

A/N- Another short chapter. Sorry! I might update in a few days with a different version. No new plot points or anything, but this isn't my best work, and it might be interesting to see where I can go with it. No promises, though. And I'm sorry this one isn't great. I've had a couple of big projects I've had to work on for school, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. Anyway, enjoy, and please review, and look out for updates in case I decide to do that!

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Draco knew he shouldn't have done it. He should be cutting her out, acting like his same cruel self. And he'd just done the exact opposite. He'd reached out. What the fuck was he doing? And with a fucking note, no less. He thought he'd been clear enough at the time, but now he was beginning to second-guess. What if she thought he was trying to make amends? Start over? He wasn't sure he could bear having to try to spell it out for her. The situation was hard enough for him as it was.

Get a grip, Draco, he chided himself. That's not going to happen. She's not an idiot. But then a horrible thought occurred to him. What if she wasn't thinking straight? She'd seemed fine during their brief encounter, but who knew? An image of her hunched-over, sobbing figure, perched on a bathroom sink, presented itself in his mind's eye. And that had just been over a bad grade! If she'd felt the same as he had, she must be a wreck. He shook his head. No. Hermione wasn't like that. She wouldn't get worked up over ths. Of course she wouldn't. She was far too practical for that. Besides, he doubted she felt the same way he did. No, he commanded himself. Stop. You don't care. You don't. He scowled as he ducked into a classroom, shaking his head in a vain attempt to banish thoughts of Hermione - no, Granger, from his mind.

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A/N- I'm sorry about the length, but I hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for potential updates!

~hermionegrangerandarocketship


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N- Sorry I haven’t posted in so long. I am planning to(hopefully) establish some sort of system for myself again(because that worked so well last time). I’ll be posting every Sunday, alternating between this and** **_Severus_ ** **(** **_New God_ ** **will be updated at random; i.e. whenever I feel like writing more). Anyway, I’m pretty happy with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy, and please review!**

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Hermione bit her lip, mouth twisting into a tight frown as she stared blankly down at the pristine parchment before her. With a resigned sigh, she dipped her quill into a fresh ink pot and slowly began to write:

_Dear_ _Draco,_

_I_ ~~_receiv_~~ _read your note._ ~~_It means a lot that you put so much effort into checking in on_~~ _I might as well be honest. I really don’t know what to do with its contents. Quite frankly, I’m not entirely certain you know yourself. However, against my better judgement, I have a proposal for you. It’s clear you don’t want to tell me what’s going on. Or you can’t, though I suspect the former. Either way… I want to give you a chance. You don’t have to tell me what’s going on(though I hope you do). We don’t even have to talk in person; in many ways, notes are easier anyway. This is probably a bad idea - you likely know that better than I do - but, despite everything, somehow I can’t give up on you. I don’t understand it. I can’t explain it. But I also can’t keep denying it. Please write back. Or don’t. I suppose I get my answer either way, don’t I? Well, I suppose that’s all._

_Yours,_

_Hermione Granger_

She frowned down at the note. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do. She transcribed it carefully onto a new scrap of parchment, omitting the crossed-out bits. One she had finished, she rolled it up to form a sot of miniature scroll, securing it with a bit of twine fished from the depths of her robe pocket.

Hermione bit her lip, debating how best to deliver the note. After a moment, she stood and headed for the portrait hole, slipping through it and stalking purposefully toward the owlery, where she selected a miniature, tawny owl that she figured should go fairly unnoticed.

“Take this to Draco Malfoy,” she whispered to the small creature. It squeaked its assent, before fluttering off, fortunately not weighed down too much by its burden, given the notes small size. Hermione sighed. _Well, I suppose there’s no taking it back now, is there?_

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**A/N- So, I hope you liked that, and please review! Sorry again for the wait!! :)**

**~hermionegrangerandarocketship**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N- Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Sorry. Anyway, I’m pretty happy with this chapter(wow, just realized I say that every time… :|). Well… that’s kinda it, so… I hope you enjoy, and please review!! :)**

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Draco bit his lip, glaring down at his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. He hadn’t gotten any sleep whatsoever the night before, and was struggling to stay awake. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to focus on the words, which had begun blurring together. Just as he had begun the painstaking process of piecing them together, he heard a soft tapping at the Common Room window. He glanced up, but, seeing nothing, returned to his work. A moment later, he got up to investigate, having heard it once more. Nearing the window, he noticed the faint silhouette of a miniature tawny owl, with a tiny scroll tied to its leg. Glancing both ways even though he knew the Common Room was empty, and had been for a while, he opened the window so that the little creature could flutter in and perch on the sill. Draco untied the note, and sent the bird off; if this was what he thought it was, he wouldn’t need to send a message back. With a deep breath and oddly shaky hands, he unrolled the scrap of parchment and read it. His eyes widened, and he read it twice more before the weight of the words slowly began to sink in. She… wanted to be with him. Regardless. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t. The Dark Lord… his plot…. He couldn’t do that to her. He glanced down at the note, frowning. Well…. She had said that she was willing to just write back and forth. And maybe he would be able to keep her safe from the Dark Lord when the plan succeeded. Of course, he could save her! Why hadn’t this occurred to him before? Really, he was obligated to do this…. For her safety….

Draco nodded. Reassured, he tore a piece off his homework and began to write.

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**A/N- So… thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and please review! :)**

**~hermionegrangerandarocketship**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N- This chapter’s really short(as per usual at this point). So… sorry about that, but I hope you enjoy! ALSO, I gave up on** **_Severus_ ** **, so I might start updating weekly(fingers crossed). Please review! :)**

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Hermione awoke to a large eagle-owl tapping at the window of her dormitory. What the fuck? She opened the window as quietly as possible, taking a sloppily folded leaf of parchment from the bird’s beak and shooing it away, sneaking furtive glances back at the other girls to make sure they were still asleep, before creeping back to her bed and closing the curtains. She cast a quick  _ Lumos _ and unfolded the note, immediately recognizing the handwriting. Hermione shook her head.  _ Really, Draco?  _ she thought,  _ An eagle-owl?!  _ That had to be the  _ least _ subtle thing possible! With a sigh, she redirected her focus to the note, and began to read:

_ Granger, _

_ You were correct in assuming that this is a terrible idea. And yet, here I am, writing you back. As for my secret, I really do wish I could tell you. But I can’t. It would put the both of us at risk. You’re just going to have to trust me(which, by the way, is also a bad idea). We shouldn’t even be communicating. But, again, here I am. Writing you. And hoping to continue doing so. But if we’re going to do that, you need to know this really is dangerous. Far more so than anything you’ve done with stupid Potter or the redheaded twat. And you really shouldn’t write me back. I hope you do, but that’s even worse. I know this is cryptic. I really do wish I could tell you more. But, at least for now, this is the best I can do. _

_ Yours, _

_ Draco Malfoy _

Hermione’s eyes widened as she read, a silent tear slipping down her cheek.  _ Merlin! _ she thought.  _ Get it  _ together _ , Hermione. If you’re going to cry every fucking note, how the fuck are you going to survive this? _ She took a deep breath, read the note again, and tucked it under her pillow, resolving to go back to sleep and deal with it in the morning.

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**A/N- Once again, sorry that was so short, but I hope you still enjoyed it, and please review!**

**~hermionegrangerandarocketship**


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